A Lovely Chandelier for the Home of a Famous Mexican Singer

Photo Courtesy Arjan Los, Los-Factory, Tlaquepaque, Jalisco, Mexico

This beautiful chandelier was designed and crafted by Carlos Galvan, Mexico’s premier wrought iron artisan, for the home of one of Mexico’s most popular singers.

I wrote a little about Carlos Galvan in a previous Post (you can read it here Mexico’s Premier Wrought Iron Design Artist – Carlos Galvan) but when Arjan Los, of Los-Factory , sent me this picture of one of Carlos’ latest projects, I decided to write more about Carlos. But first, here’s a close up of the chandelier:

A close up of the chandelier

Who is Carlos Galvan?

Carlos Galvan Esquivias was born in Yahualica de Gonzalez Gallo on the 17th of June, 1972. From an early age, he showed a talent for writing poetry about nature. Nature enchanted him.

When he was young, he was fortunate to have the privilege of living in the mountains and observing the beautiful scenery around him.

When Carlos was a teenager, he moved to the city of Ameca and there he supported and participated in promoting cultural events for children and young people.

Carlos studied for his Bachelor’s of Industrial Design at the University of Guadalajara, and leaned towards painting and sculpture. He was Senior Fellow at the Institute of Industrial Design in Havana, Cuba, where he studied specialty production machinery and ceramics.

Later, he had his own workshop making handmade wrought iron furnishings, sculptures, garden designs – for hotels and private homes. He planned his designs in accordance with the environment and space allowance for each project.

Carlos Galvan used the techniques of the Middle Ages in his work. Like the premier wrought iron artisan and designer in the late 15th Century, Nicolo Grosso Caparra, Carlos heats his iron in a forge to make it plastic and then shapes it with a mallet and other instruments, all by hand, to get the design he desires.

He sometimes complements his designs with clay, glass, marble and other materials to create a well-balanced and unique piece of art.

The Rich Artistic Traditions of Mexico

Mexico has long been characterized as a country rich in artistic tradition – in shape, color, and materials used. Each category of art has provided a variety of styles, as different and diverse as the artists and materials involved.

Tlaquepaque, in the State of Jalisco, the area where Carlos works his magic, is the number one State for the variety of the arts created there. It’s production was, nevertheless, threatened and immediate measures needed to be implemented to conserve, preserve, rescue and foster the crafts of the region.

Circumstances demanded more jobs but, more importantly, better quality production to compete not only domestically, but also abroad, while keeping the honesty of the Mexican heritage inherent in the different media. Someone to lead this teaching was needed. That someone was Carlos Galvan.

Carlos had his own ideas about the traditional designs, respecting and building on his experience, but staying open to the idea of improving. His work involved a number of factors, such as the handling of various materials, the application of the ideas of the respective techniques, and the way he handled the designs for a romantic, nostalgic past with a new, clearer vision full of innovative ideas and hope.

He, and other craftsmen, have worked together to make the existence of these high-quality art designs possible.

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This time of the year, it’s always nice to keep assorted candles handy in case the electricity goes out, or just to set a certain mood. Votive lights, long elegant tapers, and even coiled beeswax candles are always welcome. A collection of wrought iron candle holders can be very beautiful for your candles, and add a nice decorative touch to your home when they are not being put to use.    

I started collecting wrought iron candle holders a long time ago, because I have a passion for anything made from wrought iron, and I like burning candles. Two of my favorite wrought iron candle holders are the Courting Candle and the Outhouse Candle.  It has just a simple base with a round handle and held a long taper.  Kind of like the one Scrooge carried in A Christmas Carol!

Outhouse Candle from A Christmas Carol

I actually lived in the mountains for five years and had an outhouse, so I really came to appreciate the outhouse candle holder and candle. It’s easier to carry “up the hill” than a lantern and gives just enough light to light the way to and from the outhouse and the house.

Another charming candle holder is the Courting Candle, or the Amish Courting Candle.

These candle holders were very popular at the turn of the century, and had a very specific purpose. They functioned as a “courting” timer. When a young man came courting the young lady of a household, the father would check him out, and adjust how long the candle would stay lit based on his impression of the young man. When the candle went out, the young man went home. Of course, being entirely adjustable, the father could change his mind during the visit and shorten or extend the young man’s stay.

Mini candelabras that hold votive candles are another nice touch and they give off a nice ambiance at the dinner table, as do the larger candelabras. But I am especially fond of the atmosphere the wall sconce candle holders give to a room. The light is soft and wavery and can be very soothing and romantic.

Find a corner in your home where you can collect some of these lovely wrought iron candle holders and keep your supply of candles well stocked because you’ll definitely want to use your candle holders.

Click here “I love wrought iron!” to buy beautiful wrought iron designs for YOUR life!

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Appreciation for wrought iron designs is returning, especially the products made by hand by true artisans like Lee Sauder from Germinal Ironworks in Lexington, Virginia and Carlos Galvan of Los-Factory in Tlaquepaque, Jalisco, Mexico.

With increasing recognition of the value of quality wrought iron designs, they are again becoming important to homeowners, interior designers, architects, and collectors, to name just a few.

photo credit: Rennett Stowe
When looking for wrought iron for your home or yard, be careful not to buy cast iron instead. Wrought iron is forged and hammered to remove impurities and then hammered into the desired shape by the artist. It will show marks of the artisan’s hammer.

Some of the advantages of true wrought iron are:

• Every piece is unique
• Each piece is built to last a lifetime
• Maintenance is easy
• The artist pays close attention to details

Your wrought iron pieces are an investment which will require minimum maintenance to retain it’s beauty for many years to come.

Is It Real Wrought Iron?

Check the piece over carefully and look for signs that it is cast and/or machined, instead of forged.  Check for seams that would be evident in cast pieces and other casting marks.  Examine the welded joints for weaknesses.  Weak welds can result in fatigue and allow moisture to seep in and the piece to rust.

Wrought iron decorative pieces won’t look mass-produced like cast iron pieces, because each piece is unique.  Run you hands over the piece you plan to purchase and feel for roughness, breaks, splits, or other flaws that would compromise the strength of the wrought iron and again leave an entry for rust.

If at all possible, ask about references from the particular artisan you wish to buy from.  Look at photos of their work and ask if you can talk to a former client.  If at all possible, visit the artist’s place of work, where the wrought iron designs are actually created.

Carlos Galvan of Jalisco, Tlaquepaque, Mexico, is one such renowned artist who has made custom works around the world.  Photos of his work can be seen at Los-Factory website.  For any information you might need, contact Arjan Los, the co-founder – with Carlos Galvan – of Los-Factory.

Click here “I love wrought iron!” to buy beautiful wrought iron designs for YOUR life!

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A touch of elegance. . .

White Wrought Iron Bakers Rack

Have you ever thought about decorating your home with white wrought iron? Most people, when they think about wrought iron, envision the black designs, which are beautiful, but there are many beautiful white pieces as well.  For instance, a white wrought iron étagère or baker’s rack make delightful plant stands, especially if you have the kind of plants that drape down gracefully from their pots, and you have put your plants in colorful, hand-painted decorative pottery.

A touch of Tuscan. . .

If you like the look of Italian wrought iron designs, you will be able to find many lovely planters painted in the Tuscany manner. A small ceramic diffuser for essential oils would fit nicely among the plants and you could enjoy the fragrance of your favorite essential oil all day.

A special place for sleep. . .

Wrought Iron Henna Lamp

Another nice place for white wrought iron is the bedroom. An antique wrought iron bed painted white, topped by a fluffy goose down comforter, and lots of delicate, lace-trimmed pillows would be exquisite. The ambiance of the room would be so serene and restful and would be a big benefit to your peace of mind.

Colorful lamps by your bed would be both elegant and useful. We have lamps here in Morocco that are very different. Treated goatskin is strethed over the wrought iron frame and hand-painted with Henna.

And a quiet corner just for you. . .

If you have a little space in your front room or bedroom for a white wrought iron daybed you could create your own personal retreat to repose, meditate, listen to your favorite music, or read. This would also add a special and unique touch to your home.

Your thoughts. . .

How would you use white wrought iron designs to bring a special ambiance to your home? Leave your comments below. . .

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Moroccan wrought iron is beautiful! I love living here!

I Love wrought iron designs. I live in Morocco and am surrounded by lovely wrought iron on just about every window, door, gate, and fence in my small village.

Our Wrought Iron Window

Most of this wrought iron is not for protection because even the apartments on the third floor have their windows decorated and the windows facing our interior courtyards are resplendent with beautiful grills.

The Moroccan people love the symmetry and delicacy of wrought iron designs. They love the way the shadows fall on the walls and stone floors when the sun slants into the windows in a certain way. Most of the year I get the sun coming into my south-east windows each evening and it’s lovely.

Moroccans also love wrought iron wall art. They use it for mirrors, wall sconces, picture frames, curtain rods, and just as for decoration. You can’t enter a Moroccan home without finding several pieces of wrought iron used as wall decor.

Lovely Wrought Iron Mirror

This lovely mirror is just one example of the imaginative and hand-wrought pieces you’ll find in a typical Moroccan home. In fact, it’s not unusual to find mirrors in virtually every room in a Moroccan home and a variety of different sizes of photograph frames, candle holders, both on the wall and free standing, scattered throughout the home.

Other popular items, that are as practical as they are beautiful are the wrought iron chandeliers and lamps.

Many lamps, like this one, are made with a wrought iron base. First the artist builds the frame and then he stretches treated goatskin over the frame. Lastly, the lamp is hand-decorated with Henna.

Wrought Iron Lamp with Henna Designs

In Morocco, you will find several excellent artisans who make hand-made wrought iron treasures following the techniques handed down from father to son.

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Carlos Galvan was born in Mexico in 1972 but he could have been born in Italy in 1472.

Wrought Iron Cross by Carlos Galvan

Carlos Galvan creates beautiful wrought iron designs for projects around the world.  He uses the same techniques that Nicolo Grosso Caparra used in Italy in the late 1400s for his antique wrought iron on such majestic buildings as the Strozzi Palace.  The two men could have been comtemporaries, their works are so much alike.  Unique.  Beautiful.  Built to last a life time.

Carlos works with his co-founder, Arjan Los, at the Los Factory in Tlaquepaque, Jalisco, Mexico.  Their custom Mexican wrought iron designs can be seen in Mexico, the United States, Sweden, the Philippines, Dubai, and many other places.

The world is fortunate to have men like Carlos Galvan who carry on the traditions of the past and produce exquisite wrought iron works of art.

To view the information for each photo, click on the “i” in the upper right hand corner.

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The Middle Ages

During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the wrought iron designs in Italy, France, and Germany showed the limitations of all true decorative art due to the difficulty of working wrought iron by hand.  This difficulty limited what could be done in the way of design and execution.

During the design phase of a project, the designer had to keep these limitations, such as a lack of machinery to help execute the piece, in mind.

The smithy was limited also by his skills.  The tell-tale marks of the smith’s work were inevitable.   However, this added to the charm of the pieces and made each one distinct.

Reproductions

High quality reproductions followed.  In fact, some of the following photographs are of reproductions and others are of original works.  It’s virtually impossible to tell the difference in the photographs.

The next-best thing to having the original wrought iron designs is to have excellent reproductions, made the old-fashioned way, instead of pieces mass-produced on machines.

Lanterns and Torch Holders

This article features lanterns and torch holders but, in reality, the lanterns could also be called torch holders as they were designed to hold combustible material which was held in place by the central spike.

The lanterns that decorate the Strozzi Palace in Florence are the finest examples of Italian antique wrought iron work still existing, and have frequently served as models for lanterns in recent times.  Similar lanterns were attached to the angles of the Riccardi Palace, the former residence of the Medici in Florence.

Nicolo Grosso Caparra - il Caparra

These “lumière miravigliosi” were believed to be the work of Nicolo Grosso Caparra, known as il Caparra, a celebrated artist of his time, who is believed to have executed many of the beautiful rings and cressets which still decorate the old palaces of Siena. His method was to afix a little iron barrel on the center spike, which contained the tow and pitch.  The torches were then attached to the other spikes.

In some old engravings of night-time festivities by the Grand Dukes of Tuscany, the beauty of the light cast by this  type of  lantern is evident.

To see a description of each of the photos, click on the “i” in the upper right hand corner.

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Introduction to Wrought Iron Designs

I have loved wrought iron designs for most of my adult life.  Several years ago I worked for an architect in Southern California.  One of his draftsmen had a passion for architectural wrought iron design and was always sharing his drawings and “doodles” with me, as well as his books.  He awakened in me a love for the beauty, diversity, and intricacy of the possibilities of what wrought iron could become.

New Orleans has beautiful examples of wrought iron designs. Here the lacy balconies and fences are exquisite. In the French District you will find  wrought iron work everywhere.  However, in the Garden District, most of the work is from cast iron, not wrought iron.

The difference between the two has to do with the amount of carbon left after the iron ore is processed.  Cast Iron has 2% or more carbon whereas wrought iron has 0.2% carbon or less. Because of the higher carbon content in cast iron, it is more brittle than wrought iron. Wrought iron is strong and hard, and easy to weld.

The methods used for each are also different. Today, wrought iron is produced in “blooming” mills and cast iron is basically pig iron that is melted in a blast furnace with scraps of iron.

Wrought iron bloom is porous and must be hammered to reduce the air pockets and most of the slag. After it is “hammered” the first time, it is then “hammered” again into the final shape. This is done by hand or, nowadays, also by machine.

How Wrought Iron was produced  the “old-fashioned” way

Nyamakala 11 (Photo by Ellen Martin)

Lee Sauder is a blacksmith and sculptor who decided he wanted to know how wrought iron was made after being inspired by hearing about traditional iron smelting in Africa.

In 1998 he teamed up with his friend, Henry G. “Skip” Williams III,  to rediscover the art of bloomery smelting, which was the technique used to obtain wrought iron from iron ore for many centuries.

He wanted to produce his own product for his forged sculptures.  Archeologists had been attempting to reproduce the process for over thirty years, but with dismal results.

Their first experiments begin in January of 1998.  By the Spring of 2001, after much experimenting and varying results, they begin to produce a product that was to their liking.  By 2006, they had produced over a ton of their own iron using the ancient techniques of bloomery smelting.  You can read more about their fascinating journey here: The Smelter’s Art and visit the website and gallery at Germinal Ironworks.

Click here “I love wrought iron!” to buy beautiful wrought iron designs for YOUR life!

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